The Malcolm Baldridge Award was created in 1987 to honor Malcolm Baldridge, who was Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his death in 1987.His focus was the importance of quality management in U.S. corporations.The U.S. Congress named this award in his honor.

The Malcolm Baldridge Award is given by the President of the United States to manufacturing and service-related companies and to health-related and education organizations.In 2007, nonprofits will also be eligible.Those who receive the award are judged to be outstanding in seven areas: leadership; strategic planning; customer and market focus; measurement, analysis, and knowledge management; human resource focus; process management; and results.Three awards may be given annually in each of these categories: manufacturing, service, small business, education, and health care.

The award recognizes extraordinary achievement in quality management and service and is one of the most coveted awards in business today.The criteria for the award are now a central focus of organizations everywhere, focusing on providing the customer with quality service and organization performance.

A report, Building on Baldrige: American Quality for the 21st Century, by the private Council on Competitiveness, said, “More than any other program, the Baldrige Quality Award is responsible for making quality a national priority and disseminating best practices across the United States.”

The U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) manages the Baldrige National Quality Program in close cooperation with the private sector.

Our Scout Programs

We seek to embody the qualifications necessary to receive the Malcolm Baldridge Award.We strive to be the foremost member service-oriented entity in the United States.We are dedicated to member service, quality control, and improving everyday.We are fully nondiscriminatory.We strive to be worthy of the Malcolm Baldridge Award.It is not about receiving the award, but about embodying the attributes necessary to receive it.For our Scout Programs, improvement never ends.